Revenge
by Lady Of Summer Haze
Summary: Currently on hold! Assana's parents were killed by a youkai named Yaru. Now it's up to her and her brother to take revenge. But who is this coldhearted youkai she meets along the way? SessXOC
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic here, so no flames please (except when your name is Roy Mustang or Hao Asakura ;D). I'm sorry if there are any grammar mistakes but I'm not a native speaker so bare with me OK?

I hope you like it. Enjoy

Disclaimer: Me no own Inuyasha, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I only own a few dozen pics on my computer.

* * *

_A girl, about the age of 12 and a boy, about the age of 10, stand in front of what once was their hometown. Now there was nothing more left than ruins and ash. Not only the town itself was gone but also its inhabitants. The boy and the girl were the only survivors of the ruthless attack from a big, bad, ugly youkai. The youkai stood in front of the two children, planning to kill them too. The girl grabbed the boy's hand. _

"_Come on Artan, we have to run!" shouted the girl to her brother as she tried to pull him with her._

"_But what about mom an dad?" asked the boy._

"_They're dead, Artan, and so will we be if we don't go."_

_Artan nodded and ran after his sister. They kept running and running until they __could no more. _

"_Did we lose him?"_

_Assana sniffed the air. "Yes, he's gone."_

_Then they both started to cry._

"Sis, wake up."

Somebody shook Assana. She woke up to see Artan looking at her with his light-brown eyes.

"You had another nightmare again. You were crying in your sleep."

Assana sighed. She had this nightmare for the past 5 years. Ever since their village was destroyed and her parents killed by Yaru. Assana is an ookami (wolf) youkai, but she had hanyou ears, which she inherited from her mother, an ookami hanyou. Artan, her brother, is a kuma (bear) youkai. However, he's not a brother by blood. Assana's parents adopted him when he was 2.

The first ray's of sunshine shone through the trees of the forest they were currently in.

"I guess we'd better get a move on. Perhaps we'll find Yaru today." said Assana, and got up. Artan agreed.

They walked in silence for most of the morning, only to stop for a quick breakfast.

"I've been thinking…," started Artan, but got interrupted by his sister.

"You and thinking? You know that you and thinking don't go well in one sentence, right?" teased Assana.

Artan growled and continued. "If we split up we have a bigger chance of finding Yaru."

Assana's dark-grey eyes widened. "Split up? Even if you _do _find Yaru, you can't fight him on your own. You and I both know neither one of us is strong enough to defeat him alone." protested Assana.

"I still think we should try." said Artan.

"Fine, but if you end up dead don't say I didn't warn you." answered Assana, not in the mood to argue with her brother.

After a while, they came across a junction. One path to the right and one to the left.

"I think this is a good moment to split up."

"I guess."

"I'll be seeing ya sis. Take care." said Artan and took the left path.

"You too." Asana watched her brothers retreating form as he walked further away from her until he was gone.

'This is going to be _so _boring. Now I have nobody to annoy…' thought Assana and took the right path.

* * *

'Sigh. This is the fourth day after we split up and nothing interesting has happened. How boring. Where are those bad-ass youkai when you need them?'

Assana was sitting on top of a big rock looking over an open piece of forest. So far she had come across some woodland animals and a few ningens. The ningens fled the moment they saw her. Asana thought ningens were strange. She didn't hate them. How could she, with her mother's mother being one? She sniffed the air. Because she's an ookami youkai she has great hearing and smell.

'Speaking of the devil, I smell a ningen. And a youkai (insert evil laugh).'

Asana jumped of the rock, ready for some action. She didn't have to wait long, for a small ningen pup came running out from between the shrubs, followed by an ugly troll youkai holding a wooden club.

"Oi (hey), you."

The troll youkai shifted his attention from the little girl to Assana.

"Yeah, you. Why don't you pick on somebody your own species?"

The youkai forgot the little girl completely and started walking toward Assana. She motioned him to bring it on. He swung his club at her, which she easily dodged. Asana closed in on the youkai, dodged another blow and scratched open his face with her claws. This caused the youkai to drop his club. Assana picked it up and knocked out the youkai with it. Then she walked over to the ningen girl, who was currently hiding behind a tree.

"Daijoubu desu ka (are you alright)?" The girl nodded. "Is he…dead?"

"No, he isn't, but I'm sure he'll have a major headache when he wakes up." laughed Assana. The girl laughed too.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Rin."

"I'm Assana. Nice to meet you Rin"

"Thanks for saving me. Are you a hanyou?"

"No, I'm not, but my mother was one. I got her ears. Don't ask me how, because I don't know. A mistake of nature I guess." explained Assana.

Assana suddenly heard a low growl behind her and was afraid that the troll-youkai was awake already. But Rin smiled to whoever stood behind Assana, making her turn around too. A tall person in a white and red kimono with a yellow and blue obi and a big fluffy thing on his shoulder stood in front of her. He had two red stripes on both sides of his face and a blue crescent moon on his forehead. His pointed ears showed he was a youkai. However, the thing that stunned Assana most was his long, silver colored hair that gleamed in the sunlight and cold, amber colored eyes.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" said Rin and walked over to him, smiling.

'She's with him? What is a youkai doing with a ningen pup?' thought Assana.

"What are you doing here half-breed?" asked the youkai in a voice to match his cold eyes.

"I'm not a half-breed." said Assana, staring him straight into the eyes.

"Explain yourself." demanded Sesshomaru.

Assana growled. 'Who does this guy think he is? Ordering me around like he owns me. Feh!'

"Don't make me repeat myself wench."

Assana's eye twitched. "What. did. you. just. call. me.? She growled louder and deeper and bared her sharp canines.

"Don't speak to Lord Sesshomaru like that, half-breed." came the comment from a green imp, whom Assana hadn't noticed until now.

"Master Jaken, she's not a hanyou. She explained it to me." said Rin.

"If that wench isn't a half-breed than I'm the Easter Bunny."

"That's enough Jaken." Sesshomaru shot his servant a glare.

"I got my ears from my mother who is… was a hanyou. Like I said to Rin, don't ask me how. I just got them. Period." said Assana who was tired of the discussion whether she was a hanyou or not.

She turned on her heels, making her dark-grey, waist-length hair flow around her, and started to walk away from the arrogant youkai and his annoying imp servant.

"Where are you going Assana? Can't you stay with us?" asked Rin.

"I'd like to stay with you Rin, but I'm not sure if I like to be with 'Lord Fluff' and his frog." answered Assana.

A deep growl came from Sesshomaru and the next moment Assana is pinned to a tree by her neck, face to face with a very angry youkai.

'Oops, I think I struck a nerve…'

"Nobody calls this Sesshomaru like that, wench."

Assana wanted to say something, but that was made impossible because Sesshomaru was squeezing her throat shut. Breathing was a problem too.

"Don't hurt her Lord Sesshomaru, she saved me from that big troll youkai." Rin pointed to the unconscious youkai a few meters away.

Sesshomaru looked at it briefly before releasing Assana, who happily inhaled the cool air surrounding them.

Rin walked over to Assana and hugged her. "Can she stay with us Lord Sesshomaru? Onegai (please)?"

Sesshomaru wasn't planning on taking Assana with him but when he saw Rin's pleading face he gave in.

"Fine, she can stay."

"Arigato (thank you) Lord Sesshomaru." exclaimed Rin and grabbed Assana's hand. "Come on, I'll show you Ah-Un."

Rin led Assana trough a few shrubs, went behind a big rock and dragged Ah-Un back with her. It was a two-headed dragon walked on all fours.

Assana patted his two heads. "He's really nice."

Rin climbed on his back with a little help from Assana and then they joined Sesshomaru and Jaken again. Sesshomaru announced it was time to move on.

Sesshomaru, Rin and Ah-Un walked in front, closely followed by Jaken. Assana closed the line. This went on until it was time to set up camp for the night. While Jaken was busy getting diner for Rin, Assana was sitting on a tree branch, thinking about her brother.

Sesshomaru watched her sitting on the branch. He knew for sure that he was going to regret his decision sooner or later.

Assana felt somebody watching her and looked around to see who it was. Her light-grey eyes locked with Sesshomaru's amber eyes. Assana didn't plan on looking away though. Sesshomaru gave her a 'don't push, it or else…' growl.

Assana gave him a smirk in return. "What's the matter Sesshy? Can't handle a girl staring at you?"

Nobody in his entire life had spoken to him like that. Well, perhaps his annoying little half-brother, but that was a completely different matter. Normally he would just ignore it but this wench made his blood boil.

Sesshomaru gave her a 'now you have gone too far' growl, drew Tokijin and swung it at her. Assana gave a small laugh and jumped to a higher branch.

"Did I make the great Lord Sesshomaru angry?" asked Assana innocently.

'Why did I even agree to go with him? The imp is annoying and Sesshomaru is like an ice cube with a big fluffy tail. I guess Rin was the reason. I have no clue how she can stand to be in his presence all the time. '

She ducked just in time to avoid being decapitated by Tokijin.

"It's time for you to learn your place wench." growled Sesshomaru.

"I have a _name_ you know. Do you want me to spell it for you?" said Assana, tired of being called a wench all the time.

She jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground without loosing her balance. She passed by Rin's sleeping form. Then she saw a blur of green and was hit on the head by something solid. The blow wasn't hard enough to knock her out instantly but it did stop her from moving any further.

"Behave yourself in front of Lord Sesshomaru." demanded Jaken.

Assana bared her canines and growled. Jaken took a few steps back, just to be sure.

"I could've handled her on my own, Jaken. When I need your help I'll give you a call."

"Yes milord."

Assana got up from the moist forest floor, but as soon as she was standing a wave of dizziness swept over her. She fell again but a pair of strong arms (yes, in my fic Sesshy has two arms) caught her before she reached the ground.

"You won't be so lucky next time." whispered Sesshomaru in Assana's ear.

"Neither will you." promised Assana before she blacked out.

Sesshomaru laid her down next to the campfire to keep her warm. "Why do you allow her to travel with us milord? She has done nothing but insult you." asked Jaken.

"She can take care of Rin. I'm sure you find that a positive thing." Sesshomaru closed his eyes, signaling the end of the 'conversation'. Jaken went to sleep too.

* * *

Well, this is the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. R&R people!!

_-Lady Of Summer Haze_


	2. Chapter 2

Some of you might have read the shorter version of this chapter. Since I have some free time on my hands right now, I've decided to make this chapter a decent length. I hope the characters aren't too OOC.

I'd like to thank **A Forgotten Fairy** for being my first reviewer. Arigato! .

"talking"

'thinking'

Disclaimer: Me no own Inuyasha, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I only own a few dozen pics on my computer.

Enjoy!!

* * *

When Assana woke up, she had one heck of a headache.

'I guess that troll I knocked out feels about the same when he woke up…'

She looked around to find everybody else asleep. Judging by the position of the moon it was a few hours from sunrise. Her eyes fell on Jaken.

'If he ever does something to me, I'm going to skin him. Alive.' promised Assana to herself.

She tried to go back to sleep, but failed, so decided to do some useful things. First, she covered the campfire with sand so nobody would see that there had been a campfire in the first place. Then she set out to find some breakfast.

It took her a while, but in the end she found a few fruit trees. She gathered a few dozen apples from the tree and made her way back to camp. The sun was already shining, warming the air around her, when Assana arrived at the camp she saw that Sesshomaru wasn't there anymore.

"Where have you been?" came the question from Jaken.

"Chill out dude. I got us some breakfast so you'd better be grateful that you didn't have to do that." Assana showed him the apples she found.

"I'm glad that you're back, Assana-chan. I thought that you left us when I didn't see you. Ooh, you found apples. Can I have one?" said Rin.

Assana smiled and gave Rin an apple.

"If Lord Ice cube doesn't hurry his youkai ass back to camp he's going to miss breakfast." remarked Assana, and ate one of her apples.

"You will not speak this way about Lord Sesshomaru!" shouted Jaken angry.

"Oh stuff it. I speak about him however I like. He doesn't own me or anything. And you, Jaken, you'd better keep your mouth shut or I might take revenge for what you did last night." threatened Assana.

Jaken's face paled, and once again moved a fair distance away from Assana, knowing all too well that she'd make her threat become a reality.

"What did Master Jaken did to you then?" asked Rin curious.

"He hit me on the head with his _stick_."

"That's not very nice Master Jaken. Lord Sesshomaru always says that fighting is not good, unless it's necessary."

"But she insulted Lord Sesshomaru." protested Jaken.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No I did _not_. Well, perhaps I did, but he started it."

"Why, you…."

"That's enough." came a voice from behind Assana.

She turned around. There stood Sesshomaru, his silver hair shimmering in the morning sun. Assana blushed, turning a light shade of pink.

'Why does he has to be so damn good-looking? If only his personality was a bit like his looks it would be much better.'

Sesshomaru noticed Assana blush.

'Why is this wench blushing?'

"But milord, she talked disrespectful of you." Sesshomaru silenced Jaken with one glance.

"Assana-chan found apples." announced Rin to her lord.

Sesshomaru's face expression softened as he looked at the small ningen pup.

"I presume that was the reason why you were gone when I woke up this morning." said Sesshomaru, turning to face Assana. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Hai (yes)." Confirmed Assana.

"Next time, don't leave camp until I say so. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, oh great Lord Sesshomaru." said Assana, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She turned around and sat by the water's edge. She heard Jaken mumble something under his breath.

"Nandato (what did you say), Jaken?" asked Assana sweetly.

"Nothing." replied Jaken, sensing danger once again.

Sesshomaru watched with amusement. 'I guess the wench dislikes Jaken. He might be loyal but not very bright.'

After finishing breakfast, he decided it was time to move on. Jaken made sure he stayed as far away from Assana as possible. Therefore, Jaken ended up in the end of the line. Assana walked next to Rin and Ah-Un, and Sesshomaru, as usual, in front of the line.

"So…where are we going?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious."

"We're searching for Naraku."

"Naraku? Who the beep is Naraku?"

"Some annoying person who wants to absorb other youkai to get stronger."

"Let me guess. You're trying to kill him just because he tried to absorb you too."

"No, he used Rin as bait to lure me into a trap and _then _absorb me."

"Then he's nuts. Completely wacko." stated Assana.

"What gave you that idea?"

"I know we don't get along well but even I admit that you're pretty strong. Perhaps even stronger than my dad."

"Who is your father Assana-chan?" asked Rin.

"My father was one of the strongest youkai in our village. He protected the village against all sorts of threats."

"You said 'was'. He's not here anymore, is he?" asked Sesshomaru.

"That's correct. Just like my mom." answered Assana, who felt tears welling up in her eyes. She pushed them back, not wanting Sesshomaru to see her cry.

"Then where did your parents go Assana-chan?" asked Rin.

"They went to the place where we all go when we pass away. They died 5 years ago. I was 12 years old when it happened."

"I'm sorry about your parents. I lost my parents too, they were killed by bandits," said Rin. "Lord Sesshomaru found me and since then I've been living with him and Master Jaken."

'I was already wondering why Rin was with Sesshomaru, but this explains a lot. Still, I find it strange that Sesshomaru would take care of a ningen pup. He can hardly stand me, and I'm a youkai.' thought Assana.

Nobody said a word after that. Everybody was occupied with his/her own thoughts. After a while Assana smelled a familiar sent, drifting to the group on the wind.

'It smells like home. I didn't realize we were this close to my old village.'

Sesshomaru also noticed the scent. 'This scent is almost the same as Assana's scent, although hers is nicer…What am I thinking? She's a rude, arrogant, and cute…Snap out of it!' he mentally slapped himself.

He looked in Assana's direction and saw her smiling to Rin, who was showing her some flowers alongside the road.

'Why can't she smile to me?' _Because_, said a little voice in his head, _you're acting cold and you never say anything nice to her._

'That's not true.' _Yes, it is, and you know it. You treat her like an ordinary human._

'I do not. I treat Jaken the same way. And he's a youkai.' _Stop making excuses for yourself and loosen up. She could be a perfect mate for you, you know…_

'GO AWAY!' The voice in Sesshomaru's head stayed silent. 'Good.'

Then he noticed that Jaken, Rin and Assana were staring at him.

"What?!" snapped Sesshomaru.

Rin and Jaken averted their gaze to some place else. Assana just grinned. Then she asked if she could go ahead.

"Why?"

"Because the village where I used to live when I was little is a few miles down the road."

"Are they also ookami youkai?" asked Rin. Assana nodded, then noticed the fear in Rin's eyes.

"Are you afraid of ookami?" Rin nodded.

"Don't worry, they won't hurt you. I promise." assured Assana.

"To answer your question; no, you may not. We'll go together as a pack." said Sesshomaru.

Assana wanted to protest, but decided against it. Another argue would be useless.

'I wonder if they still recognize me after all these years. The last time I visited the village I was 5.'

Assana was nervous by the time the village came into sight. Two guards stopped them at the gate.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked guard nr. 1

"My name is Assana. These are Rin, Ah-Un, Sesshomaru and Jaken."

"You're one of us, aren't you?" said guard nr. 2

"Yes, I used to live here when I was little." answered Assana.

"Please, follow me." said guard nr. 1

They followed the guard to the center of the village. All the people on the street were staring at them. It was rather unnerving.

'What are they staring at? Well, I would stare if Sesshomaru walked through my village, but even guys are staring at us.' thought Assana. She felt like a monkey in a zoo.

"Assana, is that you?" spoke a male voice. Assana turned around to see who it was. A tall guy, looking around 35 walked towards her with a smile on his face. He looked vaguely familiar, but Assana couldn't remember from where.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The man laughed. "My name is Sitka, a good friend of your father."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. It has been such a long time. Nine years or so?"

"That could be about right." said Sitka. Then he turned to the people that stood around them, watching with interest.

"Everybody, this is Assana, whom we all thought was dead!" A loud cheering erupted. Assana turned a brilliant shade of scarlet red.

Sitka noticed Assana's discomfort and invited the whole pack to come to his house. Once inside, Assana asked why they all were so happy.

"Well, everybody assumed you and your brother died in the fire that burned down your village."

'Fire? The village was destroyed by a youkai.' thought Assana.

"Well, as you can see I'm still very much alive. So is my brother, by the way." said Assana with a smile.

"Good to hear. Now tell me, what have you been up to all that time?"

Assana told him everything she and Artan did until the recent split-up. Sitka listened in silence the whole time.

"Why don't you stay here for a while? I have some spare bedrooms so you can sleep there if you like. Unless you prefer to sleep somewhere else." offered Sitka.

They agreed (Sesshomaru needed a little persuasion from Assana) and picked their rooms. Assana had one for herself and Sesshomaru, Rin and Jaken shared one. Ah-Un slept outside. Sitka also invited them for diner. He told Assana many stories about the 'adventures' he and her dad had when they were Assana's age.

It made Assana double over with laughter. She didn't know that her father was so clumsy when he was young.

Time flew by and soon Assana was on her way to bed. She was still smiling when she lay in bed, falling asleep within minutes.

* * *

You people know what to do, right? (Review, of course!!)

-_Lady Of Summer Haze_


	3. Chapter 3

This is going to be my last update before I'm going on vacation. My birthday is this Saturday (seventeen years old already) and I'm leaving on Sunday, so I can't type anything out in the weekend either. But I promise that I'll try to write down the next chapter(s) on paper so that I can type them out when I get home.

A word of thanks goes out to my reviewers **Mistress Persephone** and **A Forgotten Fairy**.

Disclaimer: Me no own Inuyasha, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I only own a few dozen pics on my computer.

"talking"

'thinking'

Enjoy the third chap!

* * *

The next morning Assana was awakened by voices. Even though her hearing was excellent, she could only hear a bit from what was said.

"…Unfortunate…with her…we'll distract him…ceremony…tonight."

She didn't recognize the voice.

'What was that all about?' Assana shrugged it off and got out of bed. When she went to the main room she saw that Sitka was already awake. There was a young ookami youkai sitting next to him. He had sand-colored hair that came to his shoulders and chocolate brown eyes. Sitka noticed Assana and smiled to her.

"Assana, I'd like you to meet Cayden. My son."

Now that Sitka mentioned that the person next to him was his son, she could see some resemblance.

"Nice to meet you Cayden." said Assana.

"I finally get to meet you. I've heard a lot of things about you from my dad."

"Good things I hope?" asked Assana.

Cayden just grinned.

"I haven't seen you yesterday."

"I was away all night, preparing for the cer…party." explained Cayden. Assana didn't notice the slip.

"Party?"

"Yeah, there's a party tonight, to celebrate that you're alive after all."

"You don't really have to throw a party for that you know."

"Don't worry. Life here is boring as it is. A party makes life a bit more interesting for us." said Cayden with a big smile.

"I have a little gift for you too." Said Sitka, and took something out of his pocket.

"This is for you. A little something from me to show you how glad I am that you're still alive."

He gave Assana a necklace made from glass beads in all sorts of green colors.

"It's beautiful. Arigato (thank you)."

"I'm glad you like it."

Assana slipped the necklace over her head. It was just big enough to go over her head.

"It looks good on you."

Assana thought she heard Sitka mutter something under his breath.

"Did you say something Sitka?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, nothing. I think I'm starting to hear things." All three of them laughed.

"Where's Sesshomaru? Is he still sleeping?" asked Assana. Sitka nodded. Assana knew better than to wake up Sesshomaru when it's not really necessary.

'Better to let sleeping dogs lie, ne (right)?' thought Assana while getting herself some breakfast.

"So, what do you want to do today?" asked Cayden.

"I have no idea. What do _you _want to do?"

"Well, I know this really beautiful waterfall just outside the village. We could go there." answered Cayden.

"A waterfall? Sounds nice. Let's go then. Sitka, can you tell Sesshomaru that I'm at the waterfall when he wakes up?"

"I will. Have fun."

In the 20 minutes that it took to reach the waterfall, Cayden told Assana everything about himself. Assana also told Cayden stuff about herself and her brother. And Yaru.

"We're here." announced Cayden.

A huge waterfall was crashing down in front of them. The water in the little lake around it was the bluest Assana had ever seen.

"It _is _really beautiful. I'm sure my dad would've liked it." Cayden and Assana spend a few hours at the waterfall.

"I think I'm going now. Sesshomaru will be awake around now and he usually doesn't like it when I leave without him."

"Why would you care? It's not like he owns you or something." said Cayden, frowning.

"That's what I said too in the beginning, but whatever I do, he thinks he _does _own me."

"How did you end up with this guy anyway?"

"I saved Rin, a ningen pup, from a troll youkai. She wanted me to stay with her, so I did. Lord Fluff came with the package."

"Lord Fluff," laughed Cayden. "It does fit him though."

"How would you know? He wasn't awake yet when we left this morning." asked Assana.

For a moment, Cayden was speechless.

"My father told me about him before you woke up." he quickly said.

"Naruhodo (I see). Well, I'll be seeing you later Cayden." Said Assana and started to walk back to Sitka's house.

'Cayden's a nice guy I guess. Although he's nowhere near as handsome as Sesshomaru. Kami (god), what am I thinking? I should hate him because of the way he treats me."

For a moment she thought she smelled Sesshomaru's scent, but the next it was gone again. She shrugged and continued her way back to Sitka's house.

"Back already? Where's Cayden?" asked Sitka when she came through the door.

"I think Cayden is still at the waterfall. I came back because I thought Sesshomaru would be awake by now. Is he?"

I think so. I went out to get some more stuff for the party, and when I returned here the door to his room was open and the room empty."

"You don't think he left without me do you?"

"Who knows? Perhaps he thought you'd be better off here, with your own kind, and left without telling you."

"But Rin likes me. If he would leave me here, Rin would be sad. And he cares for Rin, he doesn't want her to be sad."

Sitka put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much. Besides, you still have Cayden and me. Everything will turn out fine, I'm sure."

Assana smiled at his kind words.

"I'll be on my room if you need me."

She nodded and went to her room as well. There she lay on her bed and thought over the last few days. She had met Sesshomaru, and even started to care for him despite his cold, distant attitude. And Rin was such a cutie. Now they were gone, perhaps forever. Sitka and Cayden were both kind to her, but she preferred Sesshomaru's pack. The thought of Sesshomaru made her blush.

'I guess I like him more than I'll ever admit to him.'

Suddenly she felt sleepy and decided to take a nap.

"Wakey wakey! You're gonna be late for the party." said a voice in Assana's ear.

Assana opened her eyes to see Cayden grinning at her.

"What time is it?"

"Time to party!"

"You aren't really useful now are you?" grinned Assana.

"Nope. And I'll never will be either." Cayden walked to the door. "Dad has left you something to wear for the party." He closed the door behind him.

Assana saw a kimono lying on one of the chairs. It was an exquisite kimono in different powdery shades of green, with a vine motif bearing red leaves. She gaped at the beauty of the kimono.

'I'd expect something like this in a prince's closet, not here.'

Assana quickly changed into the kimono. Her necklace matched well with the kimono's colors. When she opened the door, she saw Sitka and Cayden were also dressed in kimonos. Sitka wore a dark-blue one with a black obi and Cayden a black one with a dark-blue obi. The kimonos were much simpler than the one Assana wore.

"It looks good on you, just like I thought." complimented Sitka. A blush crept on Assana's face.

"Iku ze (let's go)."

She followed Sitka and Cayden to a big field just outside the village. There was a big, flat piece of stone in the middle. On the stone were all sorts of weird markings and symbols. Sitka, Cayden and Assana were the only ones there.

"Are we early or something?" asked Assana. Sitka and Cayden both stayed silent. Cayden also avoided Assana's gaze.

"What's going on guys? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Assana got a bad feeling about this. Sitka was the first to break the awkward silence, his voice nothing but a whisper, but audible as if he was shouting.

"Long ago I heard a prophecy. It said that a girl, born at midnight on the day that the veil between the spirit world and our world is the thinnest, will inherit great power."

"So, why are you telling me this?" Then it dawned on her.

'I was born at midnight. I believe my dad also mentioned something about a veil and great powers. Could it be that I'm the girl from the prophecy?'

"You finally get don't you? I have kept my eyes on you since the day that you were born."

"Let me guess. You want this 'power' that I possess."

"That is indeed what I want. When I heard that you village burned down to the ground, taking everybody with it, I lost all hope of getting it. Now that you are still alive, I have hope again. The only problem was that inu youkai you were traveling with." said Sitka with a scowl.

"What did you with Sesshomaru?!" shouted Assana.

"I didn't kill him if that is what you think. Let's just say he isn't going to bother us for the time being." A smirk replaced the scowl on Sitka's face.

"What's that supposed to mean? He'd better be alright."

"Don't worry. I locked him up somewhere safe. It was quite easy to manipulate him once I got hold of that ningen pup of his. What was her name again…oh yes…Rin it was."

Assana had heard enough. She growled and then attacked Sitka while uttering some very 'colorful' language. Sitka stayed where he was, not looking alarmed at all. He said one single word.

"Stop."

Assana suddenly stopped, her claws inches away from Sitka's throat. The necklace that she wore felt warm against her skin.

"What is this?" asked Assana surprised.

"Remember the necklace I gave you? It is used by ningens to control youkai. Youkai like you."

'Shimatta (damn it)! This isn't good. I wish Sesshomaru was here. He could've kicked Sitka's butt.'

"So now I want you to turn around and lie down on that stone."

Assana had no choice but to comply with the necklace's wish, even though she still tried not to. Sitka and Cayden stood on both sides of the stone, both holding an ancient-looking scroll. Assana guessed there was some kind of spell on it.

"I suggest you say your prayers and good-byes right now, since you probably won't survive the ritual."

"Yarou (bastard)!" growled Assana.

Sitka just smirked. He and Cayden started to chant, in a language that Assana didn't know.

'Am I really going to die?'

* * *

Ooh, cliffhanger! You'll have to wait till after my vacation to read what happens next (insert evil laughter). R&R people!

_-Lady Of Summer Haze _


	4. Chapter 4

I'm so sorry for the **very** late update. I came back from my vacation, then everything went very fast and before I knew it I was making my exams already… And no updates… In my summer vacation I wasn't home a lot. I've started college now and have less hours than on my high school, so hopefully I can update more often.

I want to thank **A Forgotten Fairy **for being a regular reviewer and putting my fic on her alerts list. I also want to thank **Mistress Persephone** for putting my fic on her favorites and alerts list. I also want to thank **SnowNeko** and **labyrinth traveler** for putting me on their alerts list. I want to thank **Sesshy's little miss**for putting me on her authors alert list.

I told a friend from my old high school in Holland about my fic and she wanted to read it. I said she could if she left me a review (evil me). So, I want to thank Danielle for reading my fic and leaving a nice review.

"talking"

'thinking'

Disclaimer: Me no own Inuyasha, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I only own a few dozen pics on my computer.

Enjoy!!

* * *

Her eyes darted around, searching a way out of the mess that she got herself into. Her eyes rested on Cayden.

"Come on Cayden. Do you really want your father to do this?" pleaded Assana.

Cayden stopped the chanting and looked unsure of what to say.

"You were really nice to me when we were at the waterfall. Even though I don't know you for that long I can tell that you're a nice guy. A bit like my brother." Assana could see a look of guilt in his eyes.

"Stop it Assana! My father needs it more than you do."

"Oh, really? And why is that?" Assana hoped to keep him talking. 'Sesshomaru must've broken free by now. It's only a matter of time. I hope…'

" Yeah, well…he…he just needs it okay?"

"You don't have to say anything to her son. Just continue the ritual." said Sitka.

Cayden nodded and continued the chant together with Sitka.

Dark clouds gathered above the field and a strong wind started to blow. Assana's body started to tingle and soon it started to hurt. Something was separating from her body. It looked a bit like a shadow. The shadow rose inch by inch, until it was almost separated from her body. By then, Assana had already passed out. When the shadow was completely separated it slowly floated to Sitka, who opened his mouth to swallow it.

It was then that Sesshomaru showed up. He lashed his whip at Sitka, who jumped out of harm's way just in time. The shadow just floated around aimlessly. Sesshomaru looked at Assana and growled.

"What have you done to her?"

"I thought you didn't care for her?" asked Sitka with a smirk.

Sesshomaru walked over to Assana, ignoring the ookami youkai's comment.

"You can take her with you but it's already too late! Her powers are ripped out of her body and soon she will die. There's nothing you can do about it." shouted Sitka triumphantly.

"That may be so, but this Sesshomaru will not allow a pathetic excuse for a youkai to walk away with her powers." He was convinced that there was a way to return Assana's powers back to her body.

Sesshomaru turned around and walked away. The shadow followed him, much to Sitka's displeasure. He gathered Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un, and told them that they were leaving.

"Milord, may I ask you what that is?" asked Jaken", staring at the shadow.

"That is the essence of Assana."

"Like her spirit?"

"In a matter of speaking."

"Shouldn't she be dead then?" asked Jaken hopeful.

Sesshomaru sighed, annoyed by his servants questions. He decided just to ignore him. A twig snapped behind him. Sesshomaru turned around and growled, because the person that came out of the bushes was Cayden.

Cayden put his hands in the air to show that he didn't want to fight with them.

"Why are you here?" asked Sesshomaru, standing in front of Assana protectively.

"I came to tell you how to reverse the ritual. I feel sorry for her." He really did look guilty.

"Tell this Sesshomaru how to reverse it."

"Well, it's really simple. You have to wait and then her powers will return to her on it's own."

"Then it was pretty useless for you to come here."

"Yeah, well, I just wanted you to know that I care for her. What she said about me being a nice guy made me think about it. Even though I tried to kill her with that ritual she wasn't angry with me." After that little speech he turned around and walked away.

Sesshomaru watched him walk away. He really didn't get these ookami youkai.

"So Assana-chan is going to be alright then, Sesshomaru-sama?" asked Rin.

"Yes, she'll be fine. We'll just have to wait a while."

A while later

The shadow suddenly started to change shape. It became more 'cloud-like'. It floated to where Assana was and entered her body via her mouth. Her body glowed for a moment and then returned to normal. Assana groaned but didn't wake up.

"Let's go Rin. We're returning to my castle."

"Hai." said both Rin and Jaken.

A long long while later

Sesshomaru and company finally arrived at the castle. He ordered one of his many servants to take Assana and put her in one of the many rooms. Since it was late and way past Rin's bedtime he also sent Rin to bed. Then he went to his own room and tried not to think about Assana too much. He would never admit to anyone that he cared for the ookami youkai. After spending time with her he came to appreciate her attitude towards Jaken, the way she looked out for Rin and even how she would snap at him whenever he said something 'wrong'.

Sesshomaru let out a deep, long sigh and tried to go to sleep. It was then that the little voice in his head popped up again.

_So you finally admit that you like her huh?_

You again. Didn't I tell you to go away?

_I __sort of vaguely remember you saying that. But I'm your voice so you can't just order me away like that. _

Get to the point. What do you want this time?

_Well, now that you've finally admitted to yourself that you like her, but shouldn't you tell her too? _

She doesn't like me, not with the way I treated her.

_You do have a point there. But you never know unless you try._ said the voice teasingly.

Fine, whatever. Have it your way.

_Okay. Bye now!_

The voice was gone again, leaving Sesshomaru to wonder if he was going insane. He shrugged it off and went to sleep.

* * *

Assana woke up the next morning, aching all over her body. She looked around, trying to figure out in who's bedroom she was in. All she could remember was passing out because of the ritual. Somebody must've put her in this room after the ritual.

'I still feel the same as before. Perhaps the ritual failed, which explains why I'm still alive.'

Assana got op, ignoring the pain, and saw that she was still wearing the same kimono. She looked around and saw a closet. When she opened it she saw a lot of kimono's in all sorts of colors and sizes.

There was a kimono of a water blue color with swirling lines in ivory to mimic the current in a stream. Glistening silver trout tumbled in the current. There was also one made of a magnificent dark fabric with lacquered threads and embroidery in silver, with a design of silver birds flying against a night sky.

Assana chose a black kimono. Beginning at the hem, a dragon circled up the bottom of the robe and ended somewhere at the middle of Assana's thigh. The mane of the dragon was reddish, his claws and teeth silver, his eyes gold. She noticed a familiar scent hanging around the kimono.

'Could it be that I'm in Sesshomaru's castle? Judging by all these beautiful kimono's I'd say I am.'

Assana decided that it was time to explore the place beyond this room. She walked through the door-opening, which led to a hallway.

'Hmm… left or right… Well, let's go right. Must be the 'right' way, ne?'

One hour later

'Mataku(geez)….. don't these hallways lead to somewhere that is not an empty room ? I'm walking here for almost an hour and I haven't seen anything but empty rooms!'

Assana sat down on the ground in defeat and sulked a little more. Then she noted the same spot on the wall, one that she had seen a little while ago too.

'Hey, I've seen that one before…'

"Shimatta(damn it)!" she shouted out loud. 'I've been walking in circles! Now I feel really stupid!'

"Damn you Sesshomaru! Why does your castle has to be so big?"

Another hour later….

"Excuse me, miss… May I ask what you are doing on the floor?" asked a voice above Assana. She looked up to see who asked the question. It was a female kitsune(fox) youkai dressed in a simple kimono.

"Oh, that… Well, I'm lost. I'm looking for Sesshomaru. This is his castle, right?"

"Yes it is miss…?"

"Assana."

"Follow me miss Assana, I'll bring you to Sesshomaru-sama."

Assana thanked the maid and followed her trough a whole series of hallways until they reached the stairs. They went down and through a few more hallways until the maid stopped in front of a nicely door with carved in decorations. The maid knocked on it.

"Yes, what is it?" asked a voice that sounded like music to Assana's ears. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Miss Assana is here to see you milord."

"Let her in." The maid opened the door, but before Assana had a chance to move something latched onto her legs.

"Assana-chan! You're okay!"

"Yes, I'm okay Rin." smiled Assana. She picked up Rin and hugged her. Her eyes fixed themselves on Sesshomaru, and Assana could've sworn he was hiding a smile. She put Rin down again and walked over to Sesshomaru, who dismissed the maid.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you again." said Assana smiling.

'She is?' "You are?" said Sesshomaru, surprised by her sudden statement.

"I am. And I'm happy that Rin is okay. I was afraid that Sitka might have hurt her." The thought of Sitka made her feel sad and angry. She considered him as a friend for whole her life, and now it turned out he wasn't. Sesshomaru noticed her sudden mood change at the mentioning of Sitka. He was about to wrap a comforting arm around her, but stopped himself at the last moment. But before he knew it he was hugged by Assana.

"I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. Arigato gozaimasu, Sesshomaru, for saving me." To say Sesshomaru was shocked was a big understatement. He completely froze. Finally, Assana let go of Sesshomaru and blushed.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to do that, I mean… I couldn't help it… reflex I guess." apologized Assana. She looked at Sesshomaru to see if he was angry. His face was neutral as always, but his eyes weren't like ice anymore. They were warm, but also had a hint of confusion.

_Come on… just say it already. I know you want to… _said the voice in his head.

But what if she doesn't feel that way?

_She hugged you, for Kami's sake! Are you that dense? _scolded the voice.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat and was about to say it, when the door opened and Jaken ran in. Sesshomaru growled and made a mental note to skin him later. Alive.

"Haven't you heard of knocking Jaken?" asked Sesshomaru, his voice cold as ice.

"I'm sorry milord, but Naraku was spotted by one of the guards a few minutes ago."

* * *

Another cliffhanger again… I have no idea when I will update again, so you'll just have to wait and see. I hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter and you know the drill; R&R!

-_Lady Of Summer Haze_


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